Another canner followed me home from a thrift store.

I didn’t need another canner. Lord knows I didn’t need another vintage canner! I mean … there were already five in the house. But, nonetheless, it was there and it decided it needed to come home with me. I’m sure it wasn’t my fault at all.

It’s a Sears-branded cooker-canner and it was made by Presto. The Sears model number is 620.46000. An example of a very similar Presto model would be the 7B.

Presto made this model – and similar models – for many years and under several brand names. These “domed-lid” models, as I like to call them, are cast aluminum and use a rubber seal under the lid. I believe they all would have come with a gauge, and that [easyazon-link asin=”B000HMBVQ8″ locale=”us”]Presto’s 3-piece weight set[/easyazon-link] came along many years later.

Depending upon their exact age, these domed-lid models may have a rubber over-pressure plug or an older metal plug. Usually the rubber plug will be one with Presto’s “Automatic Air Vent.” The Automatic Air Vent was, as I understand it, meant to be a sort of built-in timer for exhausting the air from the canner. In my experience, it pops up long before the USDA-recommended 10 minutes; I don’t judge exhausting time by the Automatic Air Vent. It is, however, highly useful for judging when pressure is released from the canner after cool-down. When the vent falls, you know there is no pressure remaining. This also eliminates any possibility of a vacuum being created upon cool-down, as can happen with other brands.

This Sears-Presto would seem to be made in 1969. I have suspected for some time that the last number found on the rim of these canners is a date. This canner has 69 as its last number, and the manual is copyright 1968. While I can’t say for certain that this is definitive, it would seem to make sense.

The first number is obviously the canner size in quarts, as my 21-Bs have a 21 as their first number, and an extra 16 quart canner bottom I have sitting about the basement, begins with 16.

The middle number would seem to most likely be a week of manufacture. So, I think this canner was made in the first half of April, 1969.

See my Presto dating page for more information.

Of course, being a used canner that is nearly 50 years old, it does have a problem or two.

Just at first glance, you can tell the gauge is much too new to be original; the original was “tilted for convenience” according to the manual. Even though this canner has had its gauge replaced, it is not correct. You can see in the picture that the needle is not resting against its stop pin. This is a sure sign of a bad gauge and I was able to confirm that when I tested it with a 3-piece weight set. When using the 3-piece weight set, you don’t need an accurate gauge – or a gauge at all – but I prefer to have a working and tested gauge. I’ll be adding a [easyazon-link asin=”B000GD55LA” locale=”us”]new pressure gauge[/easyazon-link].

I’m also no fan of rickety and rusty wire canning baskets, so I’ll be replacing the one that came with this canner with a [easyazon-link asin=”B000LNY6T2″ locale=”us”]flat Presto canning rack[/easyazon-link].

The rubber gasket and Automatic Air Vent look to be in pretty good shape on this canner. The rubber gasket has “tipped upward” as described in the manual. While I’ve always understood that this means the ring has reached the end of its useful life, I do have an older canner manual that suggests that it is perfectly acceptable to simply remove the ring, turn it upside-down, reinstall it, and that it will be good-to-go. I’m probably replacing both [easyazon-link asin=”B000LL9NY2″ locale=”us”]gasket and vent[/easyazon-link] just to be on the safe side.

You can see from the collection of pictures below that the canner is in pretty great condition for being nearly 50 years old!

I scanned the manual that came with the canner and provide it here as a reference. As a vintage manual it contains information that is outdated and that you should ALWAYS use the latest up-to-date information to ensure the safety of both yourself and your canned goods. If you want a small version of the manual, please click this link. It is only a couple megabytes. If you want the full version of the manual, please click this link. It’s about 60 megabytes.

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Here is a list of parts on Amazon that will fit this canner:

Gauge [easyazon-link asin=”B000GD55LA” locale=”us”]Part Number 85771[/easyazon-link]
Vent Pipe [easyazon_link identifier=”B015ZNB9Y2″ locale=”US” tag=”cwj-20″]Part Number 1058[/easyazon_link]
Over-pressure Plug [easyazon-link asin=”B000OREUEQ” locale=”us”]Part Number 9911[/easyazon-link]
Gasket (with over-pressure plug) [easyazon-link asin=”B000LL9NY2″ locale=”us”]Part Number 9907[/easyazon-link]
Canner Rack [easyazon-link asin=”B000LNY6T2″ locale=”us”]Part Number 85707[/easyazon-link]
Lid Handles [easyazon-link asin=”B000HM5UVU” locale=”us”]Part Number 85444[/easyazon-link]
Bottom Handles [easyazon-link asin=”B000HM7XAG” locale=”us”]Part Number 85443[/easyazon-link]
Three-piece Weight Set [easyazon-link asin=”B000HMBVQ8″ locale=”us”]Part Number 50332[/easyazon-link]